ST. GEORGE — Donning white construction helmets and 14 shovels lodged in red clay, suit-wearing Washington City officials and car dealership representatives broke ground for the new Sienna Hills Auto Mall on Friday.
Located alongside exit 13 off Interstate 15, the 43-acre auto mall will include many “high-line” car dealerships, said Jared Wheeler, chief executive officer of St. George Auto Gallery and head of the Sienna Hills Auto Mall team. He was not willing to announce officially any dealerships besides Findlay Hyundai, although a $165,000 price-tagged Aston Martin and a $128,000 price-tagged Porsche Taycan were parked on display behind him and the ceremony’s shovels.
“This is certainly a historic event today in Utah’s Dixie as I look at the backdrop of not only the heavy equipment that will move the dirt but also these high-tech, high-end auto brands here,” Washington Mayor Kress Staheli said, gesturing to the burnished vehicles on display.
“In Washington City, we believe in capitalism. We believe in the free market. As we move forward with this dealership and the other commerce that’s ignited, it will provide a number of benefits not only for those who do business here … but also for this community. It allows for Washington City to start to create a brand and identity — it puts us on the map.”
“But more importantly, these provide great jobs with livable wages that allow people to raise their families in a wonderful community.”
Staheli emphasized his excitement about the contract the city made with the auto mall that will provide sales tax revenue for the city of Washington, what Staheli called “the lifeblood of the community.”
“As we move forward, you can count on Washington City to remove obstacles that inhibit the free market,” Staheli said. “You can count on us to work with you and be a willing partner as you … lead out in your industry. Frankly, I don’t see any reason why this auto mall won’t be … the most attractive and successful in Utah (and) really in the Intermountain West collectively.”
Tyler Corder, chief finance officer of Findlay Automotive Group, said the Hyundai dealership in St. George is ready to expand, but they have limited room at its current location. Building and relocating the dealership to Washington, he said, will provide the needed space for the automotive dealership to grow.
“It’s easy access right off the freeway,” he said. “There’s a lot of advantages to it. This development will draw a lot of traffic here, so we think the new location will have extra visibility from the freeway.”
Corder expressed his high hopes for the future prosperity of Sienna Hills Auto Mall. He mentioned the Valley Automall in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson that Findlay helped develop.
“Our Henderson auto mall was a bare piece of land just like this about 20 years ago,” Corder said. “Now it has 19 dealerships representing 23 brands and employs over 3000 people. So you can see what can happen when you put a bunch of car dealers together.”
Wheeler also spoke to the gathered audience.
“Our group’s been working on this for two, three years,” Wheeler said. “This has been such a journey. Lots of different hands have put so much time into it — the mayor, city staff, council members, our group, the Findlays in coming out here first. It’s been such an awesome project to be a part of.”
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